Hello World! Goodbye Minneapolis!

I’m going to travel around the world for an entire year! This is something I had always planned I would do; of course I had assumed I wouldn’t have the opportunity until I retired. Somehow everything aligned and I was able to participate in Remote Year while continuing to work for Eaton Corporation . This opportunity really came at a perfect time for me. I have just completed a two year rotational program at Eaton called the IT Development Program. I will be visiting 11 countries in 12 months with about 75 other professionals.

Moving into Storage

My apartment lease and car lease were both complete mid-June so this worked out perfectly. I’m sure that this was more difficult for others who needed to find a subleaser, break a lease, or sell a car. I really loved the location of apartment and I was sad to leave.

Since I graduated from BGSU 2 years ago, I really don’t have a ton of furniture or ‘things’ to store. I decided to choose a 5×7 storage unit in Minneapolis. Due to the size, I donated my bed and couch. These were inexpensive and would have cost me more to store them. I’ll just buy new when I return.

– No, I did not take all of these shoes. I ended up taking 5 carefully selected pairs.

Booking Travel Details

Visas – Since I’m going to a few locations that require a travel visa, I worked with remote year and the appropriate process to get this taken care of. We needed visas for Turkey and Vietnam. The process for Turkey was very simple as it can all be taken care of online. The Vietnamese visa process took a bit longer as I had to send my passport to the embassy in Washington DC. All included some sort of fee.

Flight to Prague – I spent a lot of time looking at many different flight options from Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Prague. There really were no cheap options. I decided to try to say a few hundred dollars by booking with multiple airlines to get there. This ended up with me sitting in the JFK airport for over 8 hours and confusing everyone at Norwegian airlines due to the multiple flights I had booked. Now, I’m in Prague still waiting for my luggage to arrive.

In the future, I will definitely pay more for the convenience of a simpler travel plan and I highly advise others to do the same!

A post shared by Cassandra (@cassandrautt) on Jun 7, 2015 at 4:14pm PDT

Packing

I decided to go with the REVO Twist 25″ from Macy’s. It ended up being only $100 when I used a gift card and some other coupons. It held up very well throughout the trip. Hopefully when the airport returns my luggage, I will be able to confirm that it is still in great shape.

Packing wasn’t as difficult as I had initially assumed. I picked out the clothes that I really like to wear, the electronic equipment that I would need to work remotely, and the necessary toiletries. This initially ended up being 55 lbs, but I got rid of a few things and ended up with 46 lbs.

A post shared by Cassandra (@cassandrautt) on Jun 6, 2015 at 7:30pm PDT

Saying Goodbye

It was difficult saying good bye to my friends, family and the community I had grown to love. With technology and all of the ways to stay connected, I can hopefully share what it’s like living and working abroad in all of the countries. I’m planning to return to Ohio for my sisters graduation from college and the holidays, but it might end up being a bit too pricey and difficult as I will be in Vietnam at the time.

I am very sad to leave the Twin Cities community as I was very involved. I’ll be missing the TEDxMinneapolis event on July 31st and a few performances.

Singing Abroad

Most who know me, know that I’m a singer and singing is a key and important part of my life. One of the major reasons I was considering not going on the trip was due to the fact that I had a few shows lined up in the Twin Cities and was starting to create a great network for myself there. For any performer who hasn’t been to the Twin Cities or is unfamiliar with their support for the arts, I highly suggest you check it out. I was so impressed with the community, amount of companies, and the high caliber performances.

I spent a lot of time discussing this with my current voice teacher and past mentors. Although, I may not be able to be in any theatre or opera performances this year, I do plan to schedule coaching session as I go. I already have my first scheduled in Prague! I’ll plan to write a post about continued training and performance on the road later.

Up Next

First look at Prague where I’m staying, where I’m working and what I’m doing.

**Leave your comments below and let me know if you would like to know more about any aspect of my trip! **

Cassie, it would be fun to have you periscope at each location so we can see what you do on live video through your phone and interact via text in real time. Since you are on a different time zone, you may want to pick a time that lots of US people could make and schedule dates/times in advance. So happy for you! Congrats and have fun building deep relationships with people in the group and around the world. Can’t wait to hear more!

Cassie I am so glad to hear you made it to your first destination. You are going to conquer this with flying colors. It is always hard saying good by to family and friends. Hope your luggage gets to you soon. What an adventure. Good luck and God bless